Nutritional status, dietary patterns and lifestyle risk factors of mental health patients admitted to hospital in Lusaka, Zambia.
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Date
2023
Authors
Zulu, Thandiwe
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
Mental disorders are a public health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. There is convincing evidence from mechanistic studies demonstrating association between nutrition and mental health status. The latter can also be influenced by other factors apart from dietary factors.
The composition and function of the human brain rely on the availability of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, lipids, and proteins. There is paucity of data on nutritional status, dietary patterns as well as other lifestyle factors on mental health in low income countries. This study aimed to assess lifestyle risk factors, dietary patterns and nutritional status of mental health patients admitted to the Chainama Hills Mental Facility in Lusaka, Zambia. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, and the target population included 44 conveniently sampled nonviolent adults. Four key informant interviews were conducted with caregivers (psychiatry nurses, doctors, nutritionists, and chefs). Anthropometric measurements including weight, height, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were performed, and patient information was collected from caregivers and hospital files. Data from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were used to assess the dietary patterns as well as dietary inflammation index (DII) of mental health patients. Sixty four percent (63.6%) of the study participants were males. Most participants (59.1%) were from high-density population areas. The mean ± SD age of the participants was 33.3 ± 10.4 years. None of the participants participated in physical exercise. More than half of the patients (54.5%) consumed alcohol and only 20.5% had a history of smoking. The dietary patterns were generally characterized by consumption of mostly plant based foods and meat, the latter was also found to have pro-inflammatory potential due to a high DII score (score of +2). Regarding nutritional status, 9.1% of patients were underweight, and 61.4% were normal i.e. body mass index (BMI) of <18.5kg/m2 and 18.5-24.95kg/m2. It was also reported that psychotropic drugs contributed to weight gain. Approximately two fifth (38.7%) of the hospital admissions were related to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Unfortunately associations could not be established due to exposures (diet and physical activity) that did not vary across patients and small sample size. Generally patients consume a fairly healthy and balanced diet, however there is need to improve on diversity of the animal sourced foods to reduce the pro-inflammatory potential of patients' diets. There is also a need to monitor the nutritional status of patients, especially those who may be at risk of malnutrition owing to their mental health condition. Finally, physical exercise should be considered for mental health patients.
Description
Thesis of Master of Science in Human Nutrition.